Freezer ready Beef and Spinach Lasagna
If your child attends school in the San Francisco Bay Area and you’re a mom responsible for that child, chances are good this week you’re charging full speed ahead. During Back to School Week, mothers are running around on fumes buying everything for school, dealing with tweens and teenagers wants and demands for school clothing and accessories, not to mention books, Ipad covers and every other thing the child either needs or wants.
It can be a miserable week. But, sunlight is on the horizon because when the little darlings return to school, we mothers can reclaim our schedules and the illusion of order should return to our lives. In spite of the whirlwind of preparations required to return our children to school, there is one way you can ease pressure the first month. We know it takes a few weeks for the family to adjust to kids returning to school and resuming regular mealtimes is part of that adjustment.
This is an area where you can really restore some sanity to your routine. Plan and make two weeks’ worth of meals this week and freeze them. It sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t if you plan and it will save you a lot of time during the first week weeks of school. Here are some suggested main courses that I’ve made for clients as freezer options. The idea is to have the main course ready so you only need to add a starch, vegetable and or a salad for a complete meal. If you have a crock pot or pressure cooker you can quickly make stews or soups. Simply use one of your favorite recipes or select one online and start freezing this week!
Beef and Spinach Lasagna (I made this one for a client’s freezer)
Beef Stew
Beef or Chicken Stroganoff
Macaroni and Cheese (don’t freeze with breadcrumb topping, it gets soggy)
Sausage and Broccoli Casserole (use homemade or good quality marinara, mozzarella, pasta and broccoli)
Meat Ragu (marinara sauce with your favorite meat)
Meatballs
Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken Pot Pie (freeze the filling and buy puff pastry dough topping to have on hand)
Chicken Tetrazzini
Turkey Chili
Chicken Curry
Chicketn Tagine
